Teaching sustainable development to engineering students

Sustainable development is a complex concept which concerns a wide range of social, techno‐economic and environmental issues. Without addressing all these dimensions, teaching of sustainable development would not be complete. Therefore, taught modules and teaching materials for engineering students should include not only technological analysis and economic evaluation, but also environmental and social considerations. This paper outlines the way in which a multidisciplinary approach to teaching sustainability has been embodied in learning programmes and activities in engineering at the University of Surrey, UK. More specifically, it describes a project to develop a comprehensive IT‐based learning resource comprising a set of multidisciplinary case studies and support material in order to aid engineering students in understanding the concepts inherent in sustainability and how solutions can be developed.